Harvard University’s popular FREE online course – Islam through its Scriptures – begins its second iteration on April 2, 2018. It explores diversity of Islamic belief and thought by examining the different roles and functions of the Quran in historical and contemporary Muslim societies You can go through the course at your pace and participate in discussions interpretations of Quran and Islam (including Ismaili and Sufi ones) with people from all kinds of backgrounds and belief systems from around the world.

Course Goals include:

— To gain a basic understanding diverse roles of the Quran in Muslim cultures.
— To be familiar with many of the major themes of the Quran
— — To understand the historical and cultural contexts of the Quran and their relationship to Quranic interpretation
— To gain interpretive skills that enable a more nuanced reading of the Quran.
— To understand diverse approaches Muslims have adopted to engaging with Quranic texts, including issues in contemporary interpretation.